Waterdance

Let me introduce you to my little friend.

Yes, I gave in and ordered an Olympus E-P1, and it arrived today.

I promptly spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Centennial Park, taking as many shots as I could on the power that came in the battery out of the box (which was more than I expected). My favorite shot, aside from the one above, is this one - it's directly out of the camera, using the built-in "grainy film" filter.

Long story short, I love it. Still some quirks to figure out, but it works well, the photos are great, and mainly it just feels right. It's actually made of metal, so it feels like a real camera. It's small and light, so it'll be easy enough to carry around everywhere, and it's unobtrusive, so I can blend into a crowd without looking like a paparazzi stalker, as is the case with my 40d and L lens, unfortunately. Focus seems plenty fast (faster than my powershot, though not as fast as the 40d) and I don't miss the optical viewfinder, although I do wish the LCD was articulated.

As I say, I still have to go through the menus and figure out all the settings, but I'm a very happy camper so far. Mostly, it really does come down to the fact that it just feels right in the hand, doesn't feel like I'm carrying around a cement block, and takes great photos (the noise level at iso 1600 is quite impressive).

You'll be seeing a lot more of her. In the meantime, I ran across this brilliant stop-motion promo video for it earlier today. Enjoy.